St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-01-10
PROBATION AFTER DEATH.
Rev. Or. Smith Thinks IL We ust be a
Mean MAN That would Ask TT in
This EnliEfilened Country.

Mean NTam That Would Ask TT i'm
This Enlightened Country.
At the First Methodist Episcopal church
last night DR.. Samuel G. Smith preached to
a large congregation on the subject of
Future Probation" taking as his text:
For Thou, o God, hast proved US as silver
is tried"
Dr.. Smith had chosen this subject as being
particularly opportune. owing to the trial at
Boston of the professors of the Andover
Theological seminary for heresy, which
charge was brought against them for teach
ing the doctrine of future probation. but,
nevertheless. he said he did not intend to
enter into any of the merits or dement's of
that case, as it presented many obtuse
questions of theology that would take much
more than his allotted time to discuss. He
would simply deal with the question of flu
ture probation in the abstract. and not as to
its relation to the heather, but only as it
applied to the congregation before him.
The great fundamental question of life is.
'What is life? what is the meaning of it?"
And this settled. the question of future
probation would easily be disposed of.
The whole force of life on every side is
simply trial. The boy is placed on trial,
not to see how he will live to-day. but the
manner of man he will make tomorrow.
Up to a certain time of life man can re-
cover the loss of physical strength occa-
stoned by the misuse of his body in his
youth, but sooner or later he crosses the
line and then he cannot regain one drop of
the blood he has lost or one spark of vital
ity. This is the doctrine OF nature as to
probation. After certain line is crossed
man cannot regain what he has lost. The
doctrine of the B BILE on probation is not so
memorable; man may have sirned deeply,
have even become totally debased but the
gospel comes to that man and says: MY
brother, for you Christ has died, and you
may yet be saved" But still men ask:
"How about the future? viii have any
chance for atonement onIthe other side?" 1t
MUST BE A MEAN MAN,
the speaker thought. to ask such a question
as that. After living thirty, forty or fifty
years with the church doors wide open to
him. and with every opportunity given him
to repent for his sins. to ask if he would
have another opportunity over there that he
might live the residue of his days on this
earth in sin. The Bible is silent about pro-
baton in the life to come, but the doctrine
is manifestly immoral. Under the doc
trine of future probation men might argue
that they could do as they please in this
world and still have q chance to atone in
the life to come. and any doctrine that so
helped a man to sin is grossly immoral.
The theological difficulties that surround
the question of future probation are caused
by the mechanical view that men take of
the better world. Heaven is no play
ground where all will be placed on an
equality to roam about at will to do as they
please. There will be gradations and dis
tinctions there and men will be judged solely
and entirely by the deeds they did While
in the flesh and placed accordingly. Men
say they don't see how probation can end
in this world and justice be done the
heather. The speaker could not see HIM
self how they could all be gathered to
heaven or condemned to hell, one w9uld be
unreasonable and the other not right but
he was willing to trust it all to Ged,zs who
made them. While men may live where
! they are constantly thrown in the way of
| temptation, their opportunities to do right
were more frequent than their opportuni-
ties to do wrong. And he believed that the
heather ON the banks of the Gauges would
have an opportunity to be saved. God in
| his great goodness would not put soul
where it would have no opportunity to be
saved. and he believed that every human
being would be moved towards the gates OF
| paradise